Oil, to be specific, seems to be the worrying factor and in the past decade carmakers have shown more concepts, alternative-fuel vehicles and hybrids than ever before.

Here the effect seems to have taken its time and it was only last year that the government decided not to subsidise the price of petrol.

This to the public was a wake-up call and a reminder that Thailand was in on the problem as any other developing nation is prone to.

It is due to the oil price hike that consumers have considered alternative fuels such as LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) and CNG (compressed natural gas).

Oil companies started sales of E10 gasohol, a mixture of 10-per-cent ethanol and petrol. E10 fuel is about Bt1 cheaper than its pure form. E10 is available as a mixture of 91 and 95 octane.

Although not completely driven by consumer demand, E10 gasohol has started selling nationwide and has helped reduce oil imports. Whether it has caused the country to have to import gasohol is still debatable.

To seek opinions and possible solutions to the energy problem, The Nation recently interviewed car companies and the Energy Ministry.

Energy Ministry - Tawarath Sutabutr, director of the Policy and Strategy Coordination Office

The main question that everyone must consider carefully is do we need oil in the future? Is there another choice? Will there be an alternative source such as hydrogen, NGV, solar, nuclear?

In my opinion the answer is sadly, no. The world dependency on fuel is heavy, and it is unlikely that in the near future there will be any sort of technology that can provide energy to fill such a large demand.

Thailand uses 1.5-2 per cent of the world's fuel production, or 1.55 million barrels per year from the total of 83 million barrels per year. Our dependency on foreign countries for oil is 50-60 per cent.

The main demand for energy is from the transportation sector. In Thailand more than 38 per cent of energy goes into this sector. So the answer really lies in the changing of technology in this sector.

But the problem lies in the volume of demand. It looks unlikely that any alternative fuel will be able to support such a large appetite for fuel.

There are alternatives that will help lower this dependency like CNG and the use of more energy-efficient engines or hybrid vehicles.

But all these technologies are unlikely to be adopted here at a rate that would decrease our dependency on oil.

A misconception that the Thai public holds is that engine size signifies fuel consumption.

But with the help of modern technology many cars with big engines can obtain relatively high fuel economy compared to smaller-engined vehicles.

A proper method of carrying out fuel consumption figures must be established. By setting this standard consumers can compare the fuel efficiency of different vehicles and make their choice accordingly. We plan to develop such a standard in the future.

Another modification is variable taxes depending on the age of the car. Older cars as they age produce more pollution and therefore can be taxed higher. Newer cars on the other hand due to their new technology can be taxed lower.

The question of how fast an alternative fuel like hydrogen will completely replace petrol depends on the price of petrol. Meanwhile other fuels like CNG, ethanol and biodiesel will fill the gap for consumers looking for cheaper forms of fuel. In the future we must also try to produce NGV parts.

Toyota Motor Thailand - Suparat Sirisuwannangkura, vice president

Besides automobiles Toyota is also focusing on an energy-efficient industry. The new plant at Ban Pho is one of the most energy-efficient in Thailand. We have started the use of solar cells to power many systems. We have also avoided the use of thinner in the paint shop.

As for automobiles, pickups nowadays in Thailand are getting more efficient. The 180Mpa high-pressure common-rail engines provide high fuel economy. As a result there is less pollution as well.

But besides saving energy this way we must also try to recycle spare parts.

The intelligent transportation system once implemented by the government is also likely to help ease traffic. Another system that could be promoted is the use of electronic tags at highway toll centres. This decreases the waiting time at the entrance to the tollways.

Other technologies like CNG and hybrids will develop in the market, although they will take time. More people are now turning to CNG and they must be educated about the product.

Daimler Chrysler - Chatvithai Tantraporn, general manager of communications

In Thailand we are following the trend of Europe. So in the end we must focus on safety and fuel efficiency. Fuel dependency is not something we can escape from. It is important that we all try to use more energy-efficient engines.

But there are problems if technology goes too fast also. In Thailand we have set the standards for all cars produced to be at the Euro 3 level. But this has its problems because the fuel quality all over Thailand is not up to the Euro 3 standard and this sets off sensors in the car indicating to the driver that something is wrong and that he must enter the service centre.

So technology must be at the same level all over. Simply choosing a higher technology in one segment will only cause customer dissatisfaction.

Automobiles however are getting more efficient as their dependency on steel decreases. Less-heavy cars means more energy efficiency, as the engines have to propel less weight.

General Motors - Khanchit Chaisupho, director of government relations

It is important that Thailand looks at the trend worldwide and adopts the best technology possible for itself. GM itself has many products that are capable of running on hydrogen and other alternative fuels like CNG. The question is how to effectively implement this here.

Firstly it is important that the government takes a strong stance on which energy path it sees for the country. In the past the government has been fickle-minded and the focus has moved from ethanol to CNG. As a result auto companies are unsure whether to invest in Thailand or not. Unless a definitive plan is set, large investments are unlikely in Thailand.

Options like CNG are a good choice as it has already been adopted in Thailand, but it poses its problems as well. Customers are unwilling to wait in long queues which are commonly required at CNG stations.

To solve the problem we need more filling stations, but this will only happen if there is more demand. This leaves us with a chicken-and-egg problem. The hybrid option is not viable for Thailand as the technology is still very expensive.

Vijo Varghese

 The Nation